DDWest Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 (edited) Found this lying on top of a large sandbank on the south saskatchewan river in saskatchewan, canada. I did the lick test and it passed. It's also very light. Please tell me it's a fossil and we haven't been licking something awful! Sorry I can't add anything further! Any and all help and advice gladly received. Edited September 21, 2014 by DDWest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone2stone Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Try to make an indenture with your fingernail. If that makes a mark, put a "red hot" needle to your specimen. If it reaches a melt/smoke point it may be tar. Oh and quit 'lickin" rocks!! Like your Mama used to tell you: "Keep that out of your mouth, you don't know where that has been!!!!" Jess B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triceratops Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Licking? -Lyall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 (edited) Yeah, I keep reading this thing here about licking fossils. Is there a diagnostic reason for that or is it just a show of affection? Edited September 21, 2014 by tmaier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyrannosaurusRex Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 The theory is that if you lick fossilized bone the the pores in the bone cause you tongue to stick a little bit. When you lick just any other fossil, because they do not have the pores, your toungue will slide right off. The lick test does not prove anything beyond being bone. So if your toungue slides off then it doesn't mean it's not a fossil, it means it's not a vertabrate fossil. Hope this helped. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDWest Posted September 21, 2014 Author Share Posted September 21, 2014 Although it's light to hold it isn't soft and I can't make a mark with my nail. Oh and I did wash it before I licked it! And I never did listen to what my mum said too busy licking rocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arion Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 You can also just lick your finger and touch it...just sayin lol Doesn't really look like an identifiable fossil to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaarenlinton Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 As a school librarian, I used to put out different things that might interest the kids and, sometimes, just to challenge them to think. One time I put out a coprolite. A boy said, "I don't know what it is. I licked it and it's salty." Hmmmmm. Keep a straight face, I thought. A girl standing by said, "Well, it looks like dinosaur plop to me." "Right!" I said. She then pointed her finger at the boy and said, "And YOU licked it!!!" Huge laugh. He thought for a minute and replied, "Well, after millions of years, I guess it won't hurt." That was one of the best laughs of my career. I've always wondered if he kept licking rocks after that. . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Bones Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 This post is informative and fun.... Keep hunting DD ,good luck. ' Keep calm and carry on fossiling ' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmaier Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 OK, I have a similar story... My wife and I were visiting a museum in York, England, and one of the staffers there told her to hold out her hand. He put a brown, flaky material in her and and told her to feel it and guess what it was. She felt it and gave up, and the staffer said "It's 1000 year old Viking dung we found at the bottom of a well.". She did not find it nearly as fascinating as the staffer and I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDWest Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 Thanks everyone for being so helpful! I'm a metal detectorist from England living in canada and since my husband and I started detecting here we've found some interesting things in the same holes as our beer cans and bottle tops. It's nice to have somewhere to turn to for help! I also solemnly promise to no longer put strange things in my mouth!!! Thanks again everyone, and happy hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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